


Superiority|Symbiosis

by MeinongsJungleBook



Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Aftercare, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Classism, Competent Starscream, Facials, Fluff, Love, Oral Sex, Other, Power Dynamics, Rough Sex, S&M, cannibalism mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-31
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:20:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29097927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeinongsJungleBook/pseuds/MeinongsJungleBook
Summary: Starscream makes sure his SIC takes pleasure in his place in the hierarchy.
Relationships: Megatron/Starscream (Transformers)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 38
Collections: MegaStar Week 2021 Collection





	Superiority|Symbiosis

**Author's Note:**

> I told myself I wasn't going to do anymore prompt weeks or zines this year...and then [Megastar Week](https://twitter.com/v0stower/status/1328052679801774081)  
> was announced, and I really wanted to do something. Luckily it turned out I actually had a half-finished fic tucked away from all the way back in 2015, when I was still deep in my TFP phase, so I decided to just finish off that. 
> 
> So, here's a collab between 2015 me and 2021 me, enjoy. 
> 
> Written for the Megastar Week 2021 prompt "Superiority".

Of all the _controversial_ decisions Starscream had made while subverting society and pushing Cybertron to the precipice of revolution on which it now teetered, none was as **outrageous** as appointing the infamous Megatronus as his SIC. It hadn’t been very long ago at all that such an appointment would have been impossible, but Starscream’s sly political machinations over the eons had weaved subtle loopholes that were ripe for exploiting when everything finally came together. He and Megatronus now occupied a novel place of power that Starscream had carved out for them, and the rest of the senate could only simmer, sneer, and make their pathetic assassination attempts.

As much as Starscream loved to court controversy and send shockwaves through the stiff and decrepit edifice of Cybertronian high society, he was no foolhardy idiot. Before he’d even gone anywhere near the low caste gladiator and agitator, he’s taken extensive measures to ensure that his tremendous brute strength wouldn’t be such an immediate threat to the Seeker. He’d upgraded his null-rays to give them enough raw power to penetrate Megatronus’s thick armour, and installed dispensers in his talons containing an acid that was especially adept at melting through the metal that composed the gladiator’s hulking frame. He’d had casing made from an incredibly rare and lightweight but neigh-indestructible material installed around his brain module and spark, so that even a combiner would have great difficulty crushing his most vital components underfoot. Finally, should he ever go offline, he’d established a protocol that would transmit a recording of his last few cycles worth of memories directly into the processors of Skywarp and Thundercracker. That would provide them with plenty of material to work with when figuring out what, or who, was responsible for his death. Starscream had made this all known to Megatronus conversationally, as though it were a piece of trivia to ponder as a means to pass the time. He had no doubt that Megatronus had understood Starscream’s intent perfectly, however.

Yet it wasn’t his second-in-command’s brute strength that especially alarmed Starscream; more than anything it was his surprising charisma, followed closely by his equally surprising intelligence. Before encountering Megatronus, charisma and intelligence were the last two adjectives Starscream would have thought to associate with the manual classes, but the gladiator had taught him to re-evaluate his understanding of the rabble. Megatronus’s charisma had been key to bringing those lower castes over to Starscream’s side; the Seeker could never command their respect with the hypnotising passion of his second’s rhetoric. However, this made Megatronus incredibly dangerous; should he ever make a play to usurp Starscream, and the Seeker was certain he’d considered doing so, it was clear who the manual classes would side with. Luckily for Starscream, what he lacked in terms of the poetic magnetism of Megatronus, he made up for with his talent for strategic political manipulations. He made sure that it was in the best interests of the right people to keep him in power, and the rest sorted itself out.

Megatronus was, of course, one of the right people, so as much as Starscream enjoyed making it clear to the gladiator who was ultimately in command, he tried to ensure that his second took pleasure in his place in the hierarchy. Starscream knew that there was a part of Megatronus that resented serving under a high caste bot, even one that pledged to eliminate the caste system. He also knew that the gladiator’s spark flared with a vengeful rage that threatened to consume their world should it be given free reign. Starscream secretly feared that fire, and his terror of what Megatronus would do to Cybertron should he have unrestricted power was one of the things, beyond his own significant self-interest, that made Starscream extremely careful to ensure that Megatronus never took his place as leader. But the intensity of that molten rage also thrilled the Seeker – the idea that it was his to command, that he could use it to melt the universe down to slag and reshape it in his image was an intoxicating notion.

Starscream lavished on Megatronus all the luxuries that any high-class senator was privy to enjoy, gave him ample opportunities for glory, and listened to his opinions. Not to say he always took his second’s advice, and there had been occasions where their heated disagreements had almost exploded into violence. Still, Starscream incorporated enough of Megatronus’s ideas into his leadership, and gave Megatronus enough credit where it was due, to starve off the gladiator’s mutinous proclivities for the time being. And it wasn’t as though their relationship was nothing but power plays and simmering feelings of rebellion – just as Starscream was fascinated by Megatronus, Megatronus was clearly entranced by Starscream.

Initially the gladiator had treated him with nothing but suspicion and contempt, but as Starscream had continuously brushed off his threats and insisted on offering him an olive branch, Megatronus had finally decided to demand what he was sure Starscream would refuse him. He asked Starscream for the head of Senator Decimus – a senator who was notorious for his exceedingly cruel treatment of his underlings and slaves. Within the deca-cycle, Decimus mysteriously offlined during recharge, and Starscream took what he had been promised in return.

The two of them often argued, but they also agreed on more things than Starscream had expected, especially after they’d come to understand one another better. Outside their strategizing, they engaged in more personal discussions, from causal banter to philosophical debate. Starscream had come to respect Megatronus as one of the few bots who could match wits with him, and as time had gone on, Megatronus’s open contempt had tempered into sarcasm, and he’d _almost_ given up his suspicion of Starscream’s motives. Starscream knew that as a self-interested, underhanded, upper-class bot, he represented many of the things Megatronus hated. But he also knew that he had given the gladiator ample reason to believe that his promise of revolution and a shining new dawn were genuine, making him the symbol of everything Megatronus desired. He loved to be the gladiator’s enthralling enigma, just as he loved to be an object of his desire.

Starscream had his fun with his second, making him bend to his whims, exploring and abusing his frame with his talons and toys. This time, Starscream was content to just let the gladiator lavish attention on his valve and spike, but sometimes he’d dig his talons deeply beneath the seams of Megatronus’s armour and draw energon, or sear shallow grooves into his plating with little drops of acid. Starscream was not without restraint, he knew that Megatronus was fiercely prideful, and would not allow Starscream to truly degrade him, so the Seeker remained careful to keep his play within the limits Megatronus had agreed to. Megatronus had a taste for pain anyway, although he generally preferred dispensing it, but Starscream knew that he enjoyed their little jaunts.

The gladiator could hardly blame Starscream for his sadistic streak, given he had largely been the one to inspire it – the Seeker couldn’t help but develop a taste while watching the relish with which Megatronus both gave pain and took it in the arena. But as fun as inflicting pain could be, it was the thought of being powerful and worshipped that really made Starscream’s spark burn with pleasure and lust. Having a hulking machine of death and destruction kneeling submissively before him, obeying his every instruction, wholly dedicated to his master’s pleasure, was the most intoxicating rush. Starscream would take his time to savour it all, keeping Megatronus between his legs with his tongue deep inside him as the Seeker enjoyed overload after overload. When Starscream finally had his fill, he would push the gladiator away with a pointed heel, and then smirk as Megatronus obediently opened his mouth. With a few leisurely strokes of his spike, Starscream painted his SIC’s face with ribbons of transfluid, letting some of it land in the gladiator’s mouth for him to dutifully swallow.

Once Starscream had taken a moment to admire the mess he’d made, he would then give his signal – a beckoning curl of his talons – and Megatronus would take “control”. Starscream pretended that it was his way of temporarily gifting the gladiator the true dominance he so clearly craved, as a means of remedying the subtle power struggle they were locked in, but in reality it was the exact opposite of that. Starscream relished the fact that, even while being pinned down and practically assaulted by his second, he was still ultimately the one in control. At any moment he could order the gladiator to stop, and Megatronus would have little choice but to obey. Being subject to his second’s strength, violence and passion was thrilling because it was really his power to command, and having a taste of what Megatronus was capable of made it all the more exciting to unleash the gladiator on his enemies. Starscream wondered if Megatronus realised this; he wouldn’t be surprised if he did, after all, his second was alarmingly bright.

If Megatronus had inspired a spark of sadism in Starscream, he had certainly taken the Seeker’s masochistic tendencies to a whole new level. Starscream had taken some pleasure in pain prior to meeting the gladiator, he had enjoyed how it enhanced the sheer intensity of interfacing, but Megatronus had taught him to take that enjoyment to extremes he would have previously balked at. The hulking brute utterly brutalised Starscream as he simultaneously took him to brand new heights of ecstasy, intense pain and pleasure mingling deliciously to create a whole other class of sensation. The gladiator’s massive spike rammed into the slim Seeker mercilessly, eliciting a cacophony of piercing shrieks to accompany the guttural snarls and growls that escaped from between jagged teeth.

Starscream was treated little better than the opponents Megatronus rendered into scrap metal in the arena, and by the time they were done, his bloodied, twisted, and smoking frame looked like a ruin. It was then that another, completely surprising side to Megatronus emerged; as Starscream lay there in the aftershocks of agony and ecstasy, physically unable to move, Megatronus took a medkit and tended to him with unthinkable tenderness. In a private moment, Megatronus had confided in Starscream that he had wanted to be a medic, and it had taken all of Starscream’s self-restraint not to shriek in laughter right in the gladiator’s face. And yet, as Starscream felt his pain replaced with sweet succour under Megatronus’s gentle ministrations, the absurd concept didn’t seem quite so ridiculous.

Megatronus did take a moment from his surprisingly skilful healing to lean down and lick the energon that oozed from Starscream’s wounds. The energon that bled from Starscream was of a much higher quality than anything that was typically served to Megatronus’s ilk. Now that he was at Starscream’s side, Megatronus fuelled like a high caste bot, but he still preferred the taste of luxury energon when it came from Starscream’s fuel lines. The gladiator’s polemics sometimes contained sentiments about feeding upper caste enemies to their low caste allies, and Starscream suspected that it wasn’t all mere metaphor. It strangely excited him – the idea that together they could upend Cybertronian society in such a spectacular scene of chaotic depravity, with the seeming untouchables shredded and drained by the fangs of the lowest wretches. In a way, his trysts with Megatronus were a similar spectacle on a smaller scale – a high caste bot wrecked and ravished by a manual brute. Such a thing had been unthinkable before Starscream had started overturning the ancient order of things – it was his power that had made such chaos and change possible. Just another way his seeming submission was actually a testament to his superiority.

Once he was done patching Starscream’s wounds, Megatronus protectively curled his massive bulk around the much more delicate frame beneath him, and allowed himself to drift into a deep and satisfied recharge. As exhausted as he was, Starscream would try to stay awake for just a little while as he lay cocooned in Megatronus’s embrace; the feeling of being lovingly protected by such a powerful and vicious creature was a strangely tender power trip to relish in. Initially, he had seen the gladiator as just an incredibly useful tool, and had known that the sentiment was mutual. Yet at some point, it seemed that their cooperation and fascination had fermented into something sweeter.

It wouldn’t be long before the final pieces of Starscream’s plan fell into place, and his dominance would at last be total. The senate would be slagged, and Starscream would be the harbinger of Cybertron’s shining new dawn, with Megatronus by his side, sharing in the glory. It surprised him how much of that glory he felt he was willing to share with his second – he had never lied about his intention to forge a better world his people, the manual classes included, but he had always intended to sit at the apex of that world, basking in the adoration of those people. He’d never pictured another by his side at that pinnacle, not until recently.

Starscream was Megatronus’s superior, and the new world wouldn’t change that. Still…he could acknowledge there was a certain symbiosis to their relationship. Megatronus couldn’t be allowed to have total control – he was too passionate, too vengeful. But that fire provided the power to propel their agenda forward, allowing Starscream to steer. They needed each other, in more ways than one. Starscream would allow Megatronus to share in his glory if that’s what it took to keep him under control, and to keep him happy. Starscream certainly wanted the powerful, volatile Megatronus firmly under his control.

And he wanted him happy.


End file.
